The riot club (2014) Trailer Analysis

1. The Riot Club
(2014)
Trailer Analysis
Kerry Pether

2. The Bull’s Head pub links to alcohol abuse and violence, stereotypically
British named pub. The male characters are stood together with a direct
mode of address, which adheres to the Female gaze theory by Gamman
and Marshment. There is synchronous music playing, representing the
male’s upper class status. The wide shot of the characters highlighting
their costume. They are wearing old fashioned suits including waistcoat
(all matching) which have connotations of the characters being affluent
and wealthy, as well as highlighting their unity
(“It was all me” “no it was the club”)
There are intertitles throughout the trailer, beginning with the words
“At the world’s oldest university”. This helps to show the audience that
it is set at Oxford University, which is well known within the media for
being upper class, rich and stereotypically British. The intertitles
inform the audience of important narrative features, including the
films main location. The writing which is used for the intertitles is in
black and white, representing the negative themes within the film
(such as violence and alcohol abuse), and is written in an affluent font,
as if to represent the upper class setting and characters.
There is a frame within frame, low angle shot at the university
where the film is set, which allows the audience to see the large
scale of the university, as well as highlighting its importance
within Britain. This shows the mise-en-scene, and juxtaposes
against the negative themes which are shown throughout the
trailer. This could also help to highlight the binary opposites
(Strauss) of the upper class, large university and the small,
lower class pub which we see later on in the trailer.

3. The next shot highlights once more the two binary opposite
characters (Strauss) as we see an over-the-shoulder shot of the lower
class female character, and the male upper class character. The
mise-en-scene is also evident in this scene, as the university setting
can be seen in the background, having upper class representations.
The differences between the characters become more evident when
the female character says “Miles are you posh?”, as if insinuating
that she is lower class and looks down on the upper class character.
The wide shot that we see next highlights the upper characters
costumes, showing that they are very affluent and very expensive-
looking. Shooting is a stereotypical thing for upper class males to do
as a hobby, which is often shown in social realist films and is a typical
stereotype within the media. The sword and guns which can be seen
could represent violence or the upper class as they use these items for
sport which adheres to Earp & Katz ‘All men are violent’ theory,
whilst the large house which is evident in the background is opulent,
again conforming to representations of the upper class within the
media.
The painting of the character which can be seen in the next
shot represents his high status and wealth, and is a
traditional prop for the upper class characters in social
realist films. It could also represent him as being very
narcissistic and self-centred, as he has his own portrait
hung up in the house. The low angle shot of the male
character makes him look powerful and quite intimidating,
adhering to Earp & Katz ‘All men are violent’ theory, and
also adhering to common representations of upper class
people within the media.

4. The male character is then seen looking at the female character in a
sexual way, as if degrading her. There is a slight low angle shot of
the male character, and the female is only seen from over the
shoulder, which again makes him look more in control of the
situation than she is, as well as presenting the upper class as being
overly-sexual, and misogynistic, which is a common representation
within the media. (MEN ACT, WOMEN APPEAR THEORY) The
female is also blonde and quite pretty, which adheres to Naomi
Wolf’s ‘Beauty myth’ theory.
The main female protagonist can then be seen in low key lighting
through glass, which makes her look less powerful and highlights
how the upper class male characters feel that they are in control.
It could also represent binary opposite characters (Strauss) as the
lower class character is often seen in low key lighting and at a
long shot, whilst the upper class character is always in high key
lighting and is quite close up to the camera.
There is a close up shot of one of the main upper class
characters to show that he is one of the main
protagonists/antagonists, and that he is in control within
the film being an upper class, male character. It could also
be used to attract the female gaze (Mulvey), as he could be
considered attractive, and his smart, clean clothing
highlights to the audience that he is quite rich, and one of
the upper class characters. He appears to look quite smug
and in control, again showing typical representations of
upper class characters within social realist films.

5. There is a close up shot of a lighter which has connotations of fire and
destruction, and is gold and black which could be considered quite
opulent as if to represent the upper class. The negative, violent
connotations of the lighting adhere to the Earp and Katz – ‘All men
are violent’ theory, whilst the close up shot and zoom into the lighting
intensifies these connotations for the audience. The editing then
becomes quicker, fading in and out to build tension for the audience
and suggest that the trailer is beginning to reach an important
moment.
We see a destroyed bedroom, which represents the destruction and
violence of the club, highlighting to the audience that the upper class
characters don’t care about the new member of the club who could be
considered a lower class. This adheres to Earp & Katz theory, whilst
the audience is left not knowing who has destroyed the bedroom and
only being able to speculate who it was by the word ‘Riot’ which is
written on the wall (Barthes –Enigma code). The negative
representation of the upper class is intensified when the female
character says “These people are not your friends”, again showing
that they don’t care about Miles or anyone of a slightly lower class
than them.
There is a woman who is being objectified by the upper class
men and who we assume is a prostitute, highlighting how the
upper class views women only as objects for sex and for
things for them to look at. (WOMEN APPEAR THEORY).
This also reflects patriarchal views within society, as well as
within the upper class people. The lighting has changes to
become low key lighting, implying that the mood will soon
change as the characters become more intoxicated.

6. We hear Foley sound as one of the upper class characters punches
the lower class owner of the pub, highlighting how violent the men
are becoming as they become more intoxicated. This also shows
the binary opposite characters (Strauss) as it is the upper class
man attacking the lower class man, again a common
representation of upper class people within the media. The music
has changed, becoming more dramatic and synchronous in order to
fit the action that is happening on the screen, and letting the
audience know that the mood of the trailer has changed to become
negative.
The male character is covered in blood implying that a fight has
taken place, probably between the lower class and the upper class
characters as they have become more intoxicated throughout the
trailer, which is a common convention for social realist films. This
adheres to Earp & Katz ‘All men are violent’ theory, and is
emphasised when we hear an upper class characters say “People
like us don’t make mistakes”, which implies that they aren’t sorry
for the violence which has taken place. The music is now slow and
synchronous to fit the now negative tone of the scene.
The next key scene shows one of the main upper class
protagonists shouting “I’m sick to death of poor people!”
whilst clearly being intoxicated. This adheres to typical
representations of upper class within the media as hating
the lower class, and being quite discriminative and violent
towards them. The music has now suddenly turned loud
and fast, to represent the confusion and the negative
nature of the club, whilst the low key lighting also shows
these negative representations of upper class characters.

7. The lower class, female character is shown being attack by the club
which represents her as being quite weak, and again as being objectified
by the upper class males. This is a dominant ideology within the media,
and adheres to the John Berger – Men act, women appear theory, as
well as showing the binary opposite (Strauss) characters, the upper class
male being in control and the lower class female being weak and unable
to fight the male off. This could be quite a shocking scene for audience
members as it is not shown in most mainstream films, however it is a
common convention of social realist films, and it will encourage the
audience to see the film as it is dealing with issues which occur daily.
Intertitles showing the films tagline which is eventually shown fully
towards the end of the trailer, and are used to inform the audience of
important narrative features e.g. tag line “Filthy. Rich. Spoilt.
Rotten.” This tagline highlights key representations about the upper
class e.g. being spoiler by a rich family. The writing itself is still
black and white, and in quite opulent font, however it appears to be
discolours around the edges which could represent the damage that
the upper class males have done, and the negative lifestyles that they
lead.
There is a low angle shot of one of the films main
protagonists which is shown in bright lighting, making
him look angelic and like a heroic character which we
can tell from the ending of the trailer that he isn’t – this
juxtaposes the films theme and could show a potential
twist in the plot.

8. Flashing lights showing ideologies of a police or ambulance – this
suggests that there is a fatality at the end of the film, and the
audience is left wondering if it is one of the upper or lower class
characters. This is an enigma code for the audience (Barthes), and
will encourage them to go and view the film in order to feel a
catharsis and find out whether someone has been killed by the
upper class, male characters.
The ending of the trailer shows the film’s title in bright pink
which juxtaposes the patriarchal dominance within the film only
three main female characters all of which are sexualised. The end
titles encourage an active audience through social media sites and
a website, which also links into social interaction and could create
a larger audience for the film despite it being a niche genre.